Coach talks about kicking Pierce off Hawkeye basketball team

Steve Alford has dealt with a lot of adversity since taking over as the basketball coach at the University of Iowa but calls Wednesday’s dismissal of junior guard Pierre Pierce from the team his “toughest” moment. Pierce is under investigation by West Des Moines police in a domestic dispute at the home of his former girlfriend last week. He says, “No matter how tough it is, it came down to me. And there are times in this business when you got a lot of tough decisions to make.” Alford says it’s never easy to dismiss a player, but says given the circumstances he felt this was the only thing he had to do.Two years ago Pierce pled guilty to assaulting a woman in Iowa City but at that time was allowed to redshirt and stay on the team. Alford says Pierce was given a second chance and “With that second chance there was an awful lot of trust put into that. And with his recent actions he’s betrayed that trust.” Alford says he felt the best thing for Pierce and the entire team was to remove Pierce from the team.Alford says it was for that reason he made the move even before charges were filed. He says whether or not there were charges filed, that had no bearing on his decision. The Hawkeyes are 15-5 and return to action Saturday at home against Michigan State.(See link below for more of Alford’s comments)